Traditional communications network service providers (e.g., wireline service providers, cellular service providers, cable service providers, satellite service providers, etc.), application-specific service providers, and other types of providers face great competitive pressure to provide reliable and high-speed communication networks for their customers. Significant amounts of data and voice traffic, however, may be lost due to network failures. The network failures may include channel failures, link failures, and failures of network nodes such as hardware switches. Furthermore, determining the nature and the extent of the network failures may be difficult and costly. Therefore, these network failures may adversely impact the speed and reliability of the network.